Paperwork
by Swallows Fly as Free as a Bird
Summary: The details and secrets are always hidden in the small font at the bottom of the paperwork.


_Paperwork_

_The details and secrets are always hidden in the small font at the bottom of the paperwork. _

_Prologue_

* * *

"Ms. Redfield?" The soft rapping on her office door caused her to shoot upright with a flustered expression across her face as she woke up from her short nap. She reorganized some of the paperwork strewn across her desk, regaining some of her composure and making herself presentable as she brushed strands of rich red hair from her eyes.

"Come in." She answered calmly as the figure, a sandy haired, friendly 23 year old she knew as Connor, strolled inside with a cheeky smile. A frail smile came onto her features as she waved warmly to the younger man, silently praying that this would be not another incident or case and it was just small talk. The slim manila file in the man's hands proved otherwise.

"Hey Claire," He grinned as he threw the manila file onto her desk and plopped into the empty seat in front of her desk. "Martins left you a small case, nothing too big I suppose..." He trailed on and fought the nervous lump forming in his throat. "And it may give you some free time for you to..."

"I'm sorry Connor," Claire responded quickly with a grim frown. "I... don't have the time for relationships."

_Especially after Leon_. Claire scolded herself bitterly for letting the blonde "rookie" cop seep back into her thoughts. One year later, things have been relatively slow for the younger Redfield's personal life. Claire, with all her attributes, insight and experience, still couldn't come to cope with what Ingrid Hunnigan told her herself at the Christmas party in a drunken slur.

* * *

_"You know Ada?" The usually conservative bun wearing operative smirked as she tapped Claire on the shoulder and stumbled forward slightly, leaning on the redhead for support. Claire was slightly surprised at Ingrid's sudden appearance and question but she wrapped a supportive arm around the brunette anyway. Leon told her that Ingrid was a very elegant, reliable and reserved person that he trusted with his life, this drunken revelation of the operative in Claire's eyes didn't ease her already obvious worries about Leon's profession. Claire didn't have the time to respond as Ingrid let out a string of hiccuped giggles before blurting out the words she would never forget._

_"Leon once had sex with her! Isn't that-" a drunken hiccup escaped her lips as she flailed her arms in the air for emphasis- "so funny? His fiancé doesn't even know, poor girl!"_

* * *

Claire's sudden flare of anger alerted Connor, knowing he struck a chord with the beautiful redhead as he slowly rose from his seat warily. He half-expected her to scream and kick him out of the office in frustration and indignation, maybe throw something in his direction as he scampered away. The Redfield temper was famous around the office, Chris- her older brother- was well-known at her job as that guy you don't want to have small talk with. TerraSave and the BSAA held a strong alliance because of the siblings, their cause were one in the same: end bioterrorism and eradicate the threat of B.O.W.s or Bio Organic Weapons.

What differentiated the organizations from one another was how they carried out their crusade against biological terror. Claire was a helper, Chris was a fighter, TerraSave remained in the political side of such incidents, often resulting in the cleaning up and investigations after the incidents and paperwork. Lots and lots of paperwork. The BSAA was more of a response team to the terrors, fighting it up and close and making the mess that TerraSave would clean up. It was similar to the Redfield sibling relationship, Chris never was an organized person to begin with.

_Neither was Leon._ Claire gritted her teeth in a slight snarl at the memory of her ex-fiancé, her hard eyes softening as she watched Connor back away and then leave the office.

"Oh dammit." She cursed under her breath and picked up the file he left on her desk tiredly. INCIDENT was stamped across the manila cover in big red font, the BSAA North American Branch badge was stamped at the top left corner of the file which brought a grim frown onto her face. She knew immediately Chris must have stopped by earlier to drop it off or maybe the older Redfield was involved in the events of the incident like he always was.

"Underwater Facility- Piers Nivans." She read quietly, glancing at the accompanying photograph of both a map of the facility and a young man, maybe early 20's with a stern expression on his features. She felt that name was familiar, but continued reading on.

"The events of July 1, 2013 resulted in the death of the young Alpha team sniper when he felt it was necessary to inject himself with the C-Viral strain after the loss of his arm." She winced and felt a pity for the sniper for dying such a seemingly painful death. Alpha team was Chris's squad, she made that connection immediately when she realized how lost her brother was for those two months after July. He mentioned it to her once over the phone but he explained his wife, Jill Valentine, was helping him cope with the death of his protégé.

"Piers Nivans left behind his wife- a former BSAA agent- Vivian Nivans with their twin children Christopher and Lana. BSAA agent Chris Redfield handled the personal matters of transition and returning of personal effects, and compensations for his death to the small family personally. TerraSave is requested to handle the investigations and cleaning of the suspected area and surrounding areas of the submerged facility for evidence of bioterrorism to officially close the case."

"Chris Redfield managed to escape the now submerged facility-" she sighed exasperatedly and shut the file, she'll find time for this case later.

* * *

_To my Claire/ Piers pairing loving surprise, there weren't any stories that involved these two. That makes me so sad and disappointed ;n; so I decided to write one! Claire is such a strong willed woman, it'll be fun to write this story. Also, there are slight AU changes, like Piers leaving behind a family. These are small references to my other story, Coming Home, which is Piers/ OC. Either way, hope you like it!_

_Swallows_


End file.
